Portland Vs. Boulder Vs. Seattle (Its a Battle!) (Beaverton, Hillsboro: ski resorts, job market)

[ComeBack_Kid]

I'm moving at the end of the month, and I think its either Portland, Boulder, or Seattle; I'm leaning towards Portland at the moment and I need advice! I'm moving because I was laid off from my Las Vegas culinary union Backwaiter job at the Bellagio due to slowing tourism. I will be primarily looking for either server or server assistant positions in either high-volume casual dining(P.F. Chang's, Cheesecake Factory,etc) or Fine-dining(I have experience in very well-known establishments and great references) and I want to know if anyone either works at places like these or knows what their business is like at the moment.

I'm a 22-year old single straight white male who wants to live in a place with nice weather(I actually LOVE Snow, rain, and clouds), eventually get back into school for either an econ or finance degree, and be able to make friends, meet cute girls, and stay put for a few years at least

I was born and raised in Hawaii(too expensive), then moved to South Lake Tahoe( no year-round jobs, and no university), then LA (too crowded!), then Vegas(too Hot, no jobs) and now I think I finally know what I want in wherever I live:
mixed weather, cold is awesome and ok, just not 100+ heat regularly
Decent and affordable universities
Decent and affordable places with roommates
Access to ski resorts(SNowboarding is my SAVIOR)
Cool, intelligent, ambitious people
Cute girls
Restaurant Front-of-House job availability
Overall FUN lifestyle

So what do YOU guys think? Please reply because I need to make this decision soon. I'll be moving with around $7k, 0 debt, my Subaru wagon loaded up and maybe my bed... Anywaaays please reply asap let me know what ya think, I'll be checkin in frequently so I'll def reply. Thanks guys!

[EnricoV]

Portland's restaurant scene has been hopping. I don't know how it's faring in the econcomic slump. You might check out the PortlandFood board .. they do have an "employment" section, but doesn't look too busy, and seems mostly for kitchen staff. But, it would be a source of insider info.

[subsound]

I would not suggest Boulder, it is very expensive with huge competition in the same job marketplace (from college students funded by mommy and daddy). You have really a great university (hey, I went there :-p) but housing is insane, when I was there I was paying 1,000 a month for a one bedroom near CU. Denver is a better choice in the same area, Lodo has a great number of fantastic places to eat. It gets kind of hot there in August and September, but it's dry and people have AC.

Portland is a cheaper option with great restaurants and foodie culture, but I see ads for cooking schools and plugs like every commercial break during the day. Tons of cultural things to do, much more even temperatures and less extreme weather. Plus if you live in Portland you can get public transit everywhere.

Both have cool, intelligent people and cute girls. Similar ambitions in each. I do think the schools in Denver are a bit better except for specific areas. I graduated with a masters from CU Denver and work with PSU masters students (in finance), and I get all the hard questions (actualy that may be their plan....). Either way, get a finance degree...econ is useless (my undergrad).

[Leisesturm]

I'm impressed with the servers I've seen in Outback restaurants and Typhoon (quasi Thai) restaurants. This would be the Beaverton or Hillsboro 'suburbs' of Portland. Jakes or McKormick and Schmick (sp) would probably be considered higher end but not high end dining in Portland. These places will not be posting want-ads you have to get in directly and become in the know when a position is becoming available. Obviously it happens for people because these places always have staff.

H

[Nell Plotts]

Restraunts near Belleview and downtown Seattle may do well even with a tough economy.

[dogood]

I like Boulder as well. It is a good foodie town; however, I am in agreement with subsound regarding Denver. I lived in Denver for four years working in restaurants across the town, and both LODO and Cherry Creek have some terrific fine dining and upscale restaurant choices and there are some reasonable housing options, as well. I also snowboarded as often as I could, with the sweet 5-mountain pass they have going on there. The mountains are about an hour and a half to two hours away from the city - something to think about. In Portland you are looking at only about an hour and change to Mt. Hood.

Subsound - was your UCD masters in finance? When did you graduate? I started my MSF there in 2003 and just finished this summer. I am looking to move back to Oregon and was wondering what you do out there? How does the job market look in finance?

[subsound]

Originally Posted by dogood

Subsound - was your UCD masters in finance? When did you graduate? I started my MSF there in 2003 and just finished this summer. I am looking to move back to Oregon and was wondering what you do out there? How does the job market look in finance?

Wow, congrats! I received my MBA with Financial Analysis/Corporate Financial Management just this spring. I am in the health care industry at the moment, I work in finance at OHSU So far I haven't seen much in banking and funds, though I think it would be really fun to be in once the market quits being weird.

[delta07]

Having grown up in Denver, lived for a while in Seattle, and now live in Bend, OR, you certainly have two distinct parts of the country. Portland and Seattle are PNW climate patterns, with gloomy, rainy days that seem endless in the winter. Denver (or Boulder), on the other hand, has blue skies and snow in the winter. While the climate may be more mild in Portand or Seattle, if you are at all affected by the cloudy days, you are going to be miserable in either of those cities. Seattle has about the worst traffic I have been in outside of LA to boot. Portland is a hip town, but you really only have one choice for skiing. If you like to frequent different ski resorts Denver is your best bet. Traffic up to the slopes can be terrible on the weekends, but if you work in the food industry then you probably will work weekends and have mid-week days off. This is ideal for the ski/snowboard enthusiast. My mom used to own a fine dining restaurant in Denver and the servers did really well there. I would consider the Denver area though, rather than Boulder. It's a cool town, but may be difficult to get started there with the college kids competing for those coveting serving positions. It's also a little further away from most ski areas with the exception of Eldora.

[John Shaft]

Two cents: I've always found the servers at McCormick's restaurant (west Portland/Beaverton) to be among the very best I've encountered. Low key, but crsip, polite, and provide excellent suggestions/advice. Don't know what it's like to work behind the scenes there, but they epitomize "professional." That being said, I don't know who will actually be hiring...mid-range restaurants are already feeling the heat of people suddenly not spending money they never had in the first place.

[meltinjohn]

Originally Posted by subsound

I would not suggest Boulder, it is very expensive with huge competition in the same job marketplace (from college students funded by mommy and daddy). You have really a great university (hey, I went there :-p) but housing is insane, when I was there I was paying 1,000 a month for a one bedroom near CU. Denver is a better choice in the same area, Lodo has a great number of fantastic places to eat. It gets kind of hot there in August and September, but it's dry and people have AC.

Boulder sounds like St Pete does only St Pete FL isnt a college town. Rents are mad high in devil ray country tho.